Police departments across the country are acquiring military equipment from the U.S. government.
Small police departments across America are collecting battlefield-grade arsenals thanks to a program that allows them to get their hands on military surplus equipment – amphibious tanks, night-vision goggles, and even barber chairs or underwear – at virtually no cost, except for shipment and maintenance.
Over the last five years, the top 10 beneficiaries of this “Department of Defense Excess Property Program” included small agencies such as the Fairmount Police Department. It serves 7,000 people in northern Georgia and received 17,145 items from the military. The cops in Issaquah, Washington, a town of 30,000 people, acquired more than 37,000 pieces of gear.
In 2011 alone, more than 700,000 items were transferred to police departments for a total value of $500 million. This year, as of May 15, police departments already acquired almost $400 million worth of stuff. Last year’s record would have certainly been shattered if the Arizona Republic hadn’t revealed in early May that a local police department used the program to stockpile equipment – and then sold the gear to others, something that is strictly forbidden. Three weeks after the revelation, the Pentagon decided to partly suspend distribution of surplus material until all agencies could put together an up-to-date inventory of all the stuff they got through the years. A second effort, which gives federal grants to police departments to purchase equipment, is still ongoing, however. According to the Center for Investigative Reporting, since 9/11, the grants have totaled $34 billion.
Which means billions of dollars’ worth of military gear are in the hands of small-town cops who neither need the equipment nor are properly trained to use it, critics charge. At best, it’s a waste of resources (since the gear still has to be maintained). At worst, it could cost lives.
Take the 50-officer police department in Oxford, Alabama, a town of 20,000 people. It has stockpiled around $3 million of equipment, ranging from M-16s and helmet-mounted infrared goggles to its own armored vehicle, a Puma. In Tupelo, Mississippi, home to 35,000, the local police acquired a helicopter for only $7,500 through the surplus program. The chopper, however, had to be upgraded for $100,000 and it now costs $20,000 a year in maintenance.
The Nebraska State Patrol has three amphibious eight-wheeled tanks. Acquired almost three years ago, their highest achievement has been helping with a flood last year and with a shooting a couple of weeks ago. Overall, it has been deployed five times. At least, officers love driving them. “They’re fun,” said trooper Art Frerichs to the Lincoln Journal Star in 2010. And the ride, according to Patrol Sgt. Loveless, “is very smooth.”
In Lebanon, Tennessee, a town of less than 30,000 people, Mike Justice, the public safety coordinator, was so eager to accumulate military goods that he used to wake up at 3:00 a.m. so he was the first person logged in at the government’s first-come, first-serve online store. Thanks to his sleepless nights, since 2007, Lebanon has collected $4 million worth of stuff, including tanks, weapons and heavy equipment like bulldozers and truck loaders. Lebanon’s tank, an LAV 150, has been used only “five or six times,” according to Justice. Although it did help save a man who tried to commit suicide, spotting him with the tank’s infrared camera.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/cops-military-gear/all/
Gov't programs for state and local governments to acquire equipment:
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/105300
Cooperative purchasing from the GSA:
IT Schedule 70 is the largest and most widely used acquisition vehicle in the federal government. Schedule 70 is an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) multiple award schedule, providing direct access to products and services from over 5,000 certified industry partners.
Our industry partners have access to over $16 billion in revenue through IT Schedule 70.
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/202285
Total solutions for law enforcement, security, facilities... Schedule 84
Whether it is protecting our shorelines, patrolling our harbors, ports, and federally controlled lakes and rivers, or oil-spill containment, this Schedule has all types of marine craft, equipment and services to meet your needs. This schedule can provide equipment and services for personal, vehicular, or facility applications for all of your law enforcement protection, prevention, apprehension, or investigation needs.
Items on this Schedule can help you extinguish fires, manage controlled burns, and provide personal respiratory protection. Additionally, products are included for search and rescue, both to assist your entry into buildings or vehicles, and to safely evacuate personnel.
Check out our process monitoring, hazard alarms, audible/visual alarms, anti-theft alarms, patient wandering systems and fire alarm systems. GSA has facility management systems for security and energy management functions. Services such as professional security, facility management and guard services are also located in this Schedule.
To protect one’s self from the elements, fire, biochemical exposure, accidental immersion, or other hazardous materials, see what is available in Schedule 84. Uniforms, safety shoes, and boots of all types are available as well.
GSA's offerings include:
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104644
The 1122 Program:
The 1122 Program offers Americans peace of mind by enabling state and units of local government, access to federal sources of supply to purchase equipment in support of counter-drug, homeland security and emergency response activities.
The Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 amended 10 U.S.C. 381, to expand the procurement authority under the 1122 Program beyond counter-drug activities, to include equipment for homeland security and emergency response activities. Details on the program expansion including the requirements for State Point of Contact (SPOC) certification are located in:
1122 Program Equipment and Supplies Catalog (1122 Catalog)
Here is the list of all states currently participating in the 1122 Program, along with their corresponding certified State Points of Contact:
State Point of Contact (SPOC) (Pdf.)
The Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and the General Services Administration (GSA) all provide equipment for purchase to the participating states under the program.
Additional GSA state and local programs:
In addition to the 1122 Program, state and local government entities may take advantage of the purchasing power of the federal government through the Cooperative Purchasing Program, the Disaster Recovery Purchasing Program, and the Public Health Emergencies Program.
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/202569
The Federal Surplus Personal Property Donation Program enables certain nonfederal organizations to obtain personal property that the federal government no longer needs. Surplus personal property includes all types and categories of personal property except:
Land or other real property
Certain naval vessels
Records of the federal government
The following activities are eligible to receive donations of federal property through the State Agencies for Surplus Property (SASP). SASPs are state-run organizations that coordinate the federal program for the donation of federal surplus property to public, tax-supported entities and eligible private nonprofit tax-exempt organizations. Details on each category follow: